The market for pickups, once considered immune to surging gas prices, is deteriorating faster than many industry executives expected, an ominous sign for the domestic automakers who earn most of their revenue from trucks and SUVs.

Small cars, the boon and bane of the 1980s auto industry, are making a comeback as automakers rediscover how easy it is to sell good fuel economy and low prices. "Small is big in America," declares Mark Fields, Ford Motor's head of American operations. | PHOTO GALLERY

General Motors will extend its employee-pricing discount plan on select 2005 models until Sept. 30, and apply the discount to select 2006 full-size pickups and sport-utility vehicles, a spokeswoman said Thursday.